15 comments:

bk
said...

I heard an interview and performance from Lauryn on non mainstream media and she sounded normal. I also went to the concert in Brookly which was not that great. 20 years from now people are still going to say that Lauryn is the greatest of her generation.She is the only fascinating celebrity b/c who decides to quit when they are at the top?

I don't think Queen has that many options, no black actress does.

Did you know Debra Lee went to Harvard? What did she learn?

And Alicia is not interesting anymore her clothes are boring now and she always sings the same love songs, nothing interesting or profound.

Well, MDC, we don't hear that much over here about American public figures, apart from the politicians, but one person who fascinated me was Hugo Chavez. Is he the great saviour of Venezuela, doing great things for the poor and dispossessed, or is he a dictator who wants to take over the country for his own ends? I read opposing opinions every week and I just don't know the truth - I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I also heard a talk (here in Belfast) by an amazing socialist doctor Susan Rosenthal of the University of Texas. She has written some brilliant analyses of the destructive effects of capitalism and how it creates a huge sense of powerlessness in ordinary people.

Also, thanks for flagging up Assata Shakur. I knew nothing about her and the story of her Black Panther activities and long exile in Cuba. As you say, I wonder what it's like to live in exile for so long?

MDC, I know you shut off your cable, but the Sundance Channel produces a show called Iconoclast where they pair two celebrities from varying genres interview each other. This season one of the episodes featured Alicia Keys and Ruby Dee. It was really interesting and Alicia seemed to let down a but of her guard. It was very interesting.

Why do you feel Alicia is distant? What do you see as different about her now compared to before?

I agree with one of the previous commenters. I don't think any woman in the movie industry has a load of choices in roles. This is especially true of African American, Asian, and Latino women.

In terms of Debra Lee. I don't think she actually hates Black women. What I do think though is that she like a lot of people are proud capitalists. It is kind of like when read in comic books or movies and you have bad guys. I tend to think villains don't see themselves as evil. They may think that their view of the world is rational.

So for example with people like Debra Lee, I think they see things like this. This is looking at it from her perspective.

1) I am in the entertainment industry and this is a business.

2) My goal is to increase the company shares and make the company as profitable as possible.

3) My company has a market that is currently profitable so this is good for business.

4) There are people who support this business model, and profits are not going down because of it.

5) I may not myself subscribe to everything that is a part of the output of the business model, but once again profit is the goal of this business.

6) Sure some people may not like it, but it is business and there are a lot more people who don't have a problem with it.

7) If this business model ceases to make the company profitable, then we will switch to the business model that works.

That is how I see people like this who put out this kind of garbage. They more than likely are thinking about things from a profit margin standpoint. They probably are distanced from the affects of the product. For example, because of the money she has her children for the most part won't suffer the affects of the image BET puts out, so it doesn't bother her one bit. She may even keep her children from watching some of the content.

So in the end, her actions may be those of one who hates African Americans, but she may not see herself in that light. One of those outside looking in situations.

Well, she has an extremely obvious musical intelligence. Listen to her runs and the songs she writes. . . but, then, when you see her in interviews you get the complete opposite. I just want to see the "person" who writes those songs and does those runs.

In terms of Debra Lee, I guess what I am trying to say is this. Maybe, just maybe it is not a matter of her living in a vacuum. Maybe the issue is that the people who have a problem with the programming of BET have a different moral framework than Debra Lee and all those who support BET. There are obviously enough people supporting BET to make their present business model profitable enough to where they can ignore the protests and such. At least for the moment. I assume when their current model isn't profitable they will change. Kind of like when Coca Cola was being protested because of their business ventures in South African during Apartheid.

Like you are getting at, you would think that a woman in person position would want to try and do a different venue of programming. BET has the ability to change the face of African American entertainment. Yet, maybe she doesn't live in that world view that you are talking about. Just like the artist who do the type of "entertainment" on BET. Maybe these people don't care because they feel like they don't have to. If the money is rolling in, and their basis for what they are doing is money why should they feel the need to change?

One way or another this turns into a moral argument because who decides what is morally right or wrong? I think that if you were in a room with people like Debra Lee you would that you don't see eye to eye on what is morally right and wrong. I think it is as simple as that.

In terms of Alicia. I think you have to consider the pressures of being in the spotlight and trying to do a job. I remember once I was given an prestigious award called the Spirit Award when I lived in Kansas City. I was the youngest person, at age 17, in KCMO to receive it. Prior to me the youngest person to receive it was in their 40's. When the Awards Ceremony came around I was in contact with a lot of the movers and shakers in KCMO. Then the local newspapers started to come around and ask lots of questions. It got to the point where I didn't really like the spot light that all of a sudden got cast on me. I remember once a reporter came to my house when I was washing my car. When he interviewed me I was really distant, and I tried to downplay the whole thing. At the time he interviewed me I felt like I was being distant, but he didn't seem to notice it and he wrote an interesting article.

I was only 17, and I didn't ask for such a thing. The community work I had been doing, wasn't that big of a deal to me. There were people who were doing a lot more than me. It ended up that one of my mother's friends sent in my name when they chose.

One thing I remember about that time was how the spotlight was on me for months until I left and went to college. It was a little scary, because I felt that I couldn't really be me in the presence of such attention. Things that were previously personal to me were no longer personal. Things that were a part of my private nature were no longer private. I also had to be Mr. Youngest to receive the Spirit Award all the time, or else people had things to say.